contamination
Americannoun
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the act of contaminating, or of making something impure or unsuitable by contact with something unclean, bad, etc.
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the act of contaminating, or of rendering something harmful or unusable by the addition of radioactive material.
the contamination of food following a nuclear attack.
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the state of being contaminated.
The manufacturer recalled the product because of possible salmonella contamination.
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Rare. something that contaminates a place or substance, as by making it impure, unsuitable, harmful, or unusable; a contaminant.
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Linguistics.
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an alternation in a linguistic form due to the influence of a related form, as the replacement in English of earlier femelle with female through the influence of male.
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the process of forming blends.
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noun
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the act or process of contaminating or the state of being contaminated
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something that contaminates
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linguistics the process by which one word or phrase is altered because of mistaken associations with another word or phrase; for example, the substitution of irregardless for regardless by association with such words as irrespective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of contamination
1375–1425; late Middle English contaminacioun < Late Latin contāminātiōn- (stem of contāminātiō ), equivalent to contāmināt ( us ) ( see contaminate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Contamination is the unwanted pollution of something by another substance. When a nuclear power plant leaks radiation into the atmosphere, for example, it causes a contamination of the surrounding area. Contamination can also be used to refer to abstract ideas and concepts rather than to just physical things. The French complain that the increasing adoption of English words is a contamination of their linguistic heritage, and many parents today think rap music is a contamination of the public culture.
Vocabulary lists containing contamination
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These systems, scattered across Altadena, “pose significant risks of groundwater contamination, surface water pollution and potential public health hazards,” according to a statement from the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Collagen is the primary structural protein found in bone tissue and one of the hardest biomolecules to explain away as contamination when identified in this context.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
She also noted the risk of contamination and a lack of dosing standardization, which apply to all peptides people are buying online without prescriptions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
However, if it is a different new world strain, for example one called Sin Nombre, which only circulates in North America, contamination in South America can be ruled out.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
There are also cases of chance or accidental contamination.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
